Mountaineering trailblazers include first Saudi woman to scale soaring summit, man of Palestinian extraction who dedicates trip to compatriots languishing in Israeli prisons

Elior Levi |Published: 19.05.13 , 13:14

Four alpinists from Arab countries scaled Mount Everest
as part of a 64-man group, thus setting a triple mountain-conquering precedent: The first Palestinian, the first Saudi
woman and the first Qatari national to climb to the top of the world's highest mountain. The group dubbed themselves "Arabs with Altitude."

Tilak Padney of Nepal's Mountaineering Department said 35 foreigners accompanied by 29 Nepalese Sherpa guides reached the 8,850-meter (29,035-foot) peak on Saturday morning after climbing all night from the highest camp on South Col. All were reported to be safe.

They began the arduous journey last April, intent on raising $1,000,000 for projects aimed to promote education in Nepal.
Among them was Raha Moharrak, who became the first Saudi Arabian woman to scale the world's highest peak. At 25, she is also the youngest ever Arab to achieve the feat.

In a country such as Saudi Arabia, where women are not allowed to drive, her participation in the expedition was far from a given.

Dedicated climb to prisoners. Raed Zidan

She said she faced tough time trying to convince her family to allow her take the treacherous trip, but that she doesn't set store by being a trailblazer as long as it inspires other Arab women to follow in her steps.

Raed Zidan was born in Kuwait to Palestinian parents who immigrated from a village near Qalqilya.
Zidan, who is living in the US, is a seasoned mountaineer who had previously scaled Mount Kilimanjaro. There, as on top of Nepal, he erected a Palestinian flag, saying he dedicates his feat to Palestinians, especially those "languishing" in Israeli
prisons.